Bill to open family courts passes key hurdle

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A bill that would allow a pilot project to open family courts unanimously passed a House panel Wednesday and will likely pass the full House in coming days.

House Bill 239 would create at least one pilot project in seven Supreme Court districts to open family court proceedings, including abuse, neglect and dependency hearings. The pilot project would last four years and would allow the courts to determine what information in those court proceedings could be released.

A similar bill passed the House in 2010 but never made it through the Republican-controlled Senate.
Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, the primary sponsor of HB 239, told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday that opening the courts would add another level of accountability to the child protection system.

That system has been under fire over the past 18 months after a Franklin Circuit Court judge ordered the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to release internal child protection records when a child dies or nearly dies as a result of abuse and neglect.

Some of those documents have revealed problems within the child protection system — such as a lack of required internal reviews when the cabinet had previous contact with the family.

Westrom said a similar bill died in 2010 because there wasn’t enough time to have the matter heard in the Senate. This year, Westrom said she hopes judges will help educate lawmakers on the merits of the bill.

“A lot of these judges will be able to talk to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Westrom said.

Many family court judges have been pushing to open the courts for several years. Jefferson County Family Circuit Court Judge Patricia FitzGerald said that a national association for juvenile courts has backed opening juvenile court proceedings for several years.

FitzGerald said states that have opened courts have never reported any negative outcomes, she said.
“We’ve never seen it happen,” she said.

FitzGerald pointed out that previous commissions that examined that state’s child protection system have recommended opening the courts to add more accountability to the judicial and child protection system.

Family Court Judge Jason Fleming of Christian County said he at one time thought family courts should be closed and it should be at the discretion of the judge to open the court room.

Fleming said even if the media does not name a child — newspapers do not generally name child victims — he is concerned that in smaller counties the public will still be able to determine a child’s identity.

But Fleming said the bill alleviated many of those concerns because it allowed judges discretion on what information would be released. The bill would allow judges to close the courts in certain instances.

Court hearings involving sexual abuse will remain closed under the pilot project.

Westrom said there will be enough volunteer judges in each of the seven Supreme Court judicial districts to start the pilot project, which will not cost taxpayers any money.

Filed Under: KY Courts • KY General Assembly • Social Services • State Government